Mark, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all scored top-10 finishes during Saturday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at
Bristol Motor Speedway.
Mark, who was making his 1,000th career NASCAR start, battled hard with eventual winner Kyle
Busch during the final 68 laps and crossed the finish line second in his No. 5
Pop-Tarts/CARQUEST Chevrolet. Mark led a race-high 240 laps and improved 48 points
in the driver standings. He now ranks 10th with two races remaining for the cutoff for the
Chase for the Sprint Cup.
"I had a good time tonight," said Mark, who started from the pole position for the fourth time this
season and ninth time at the short track. "I had a really great race car. I felt that that was a great battle
right there at the end with Kyle. He didn't even attempt to pinch me, crowd me or anything else. He gave
me more than enough racing room to pull it off, and I just couldn't get it done on the bottom
that quick. We weren't that much better. We were just pretty equal. I got a good handful of wheel and
managed to get beside him and get the fans on their feet."
|
